A wildfire ignited in a windstorm south of Wetmore Tuesday consumed more than 1,000 acres and was possibly human-caused, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service told reporters Tuesday night.

The cause of the Wetmore fire is under investigation, as the fight against the" long, narrow" blaze mounts Wednesday, said Forest Service spokesman Ralph Bella. "There are different rumors, but we don't know yet," he said. "There's a strong possibility it was human-caused."

First reported at about 1:30 p.m., the fire spread in 50 mph winds, and air crews were unable to get in the air because of the dangerous gusts. While two air tankers and a helicopter are on standby to help Wednesday, wind could be severe again ahead of a snowstorm Thursday.

Wetmore, Colorado

"Fighting fire in the wind is the most difficult thing a firefighter experiences," Bella said.

Authorities said earlier in the day the fire spread quickly in the wind from a house fire in the Greenwood Village subdivision south of Wetmore. So far the fire has burned into "broken terrain" through valleys and ridges that are relatively uninhabited areas of Custer and Pueblo Counties.

He said authorities hoped to find out how many structures had burned Wednesday morning. He could not estimate how many homes ore evacuees have been affected by the fire.

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Greenwood Village residents Gary and Barbara Hoehn told the Colorado Springs Gazette they saw the fire from their home along Custer County Road 390, rounded up their dogs and fled in separate vehicles.

They were quickly detoured by flames. "It was a dead end," Barbara Hoehn told the Gazette. "The flames were coming, and we ran out of places to hide."

The pulled up to a steel building surrounded by a gravel lot and waited for the flames to pass. The heat cracked Gary Hoehn's passenger-side window. "We just waited for it to blow over us," Gary Hoehn said.

They saw their home was on fire as they left the community.

A Type II incident management team has been ordered for the fire, according to Pueblo National Weather Service.

Steve Segin of the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center tweeted around 2:30 p.m. that more than 300 homes have been evacuated and Colorado 96 is closed to westbound traffic at the far west Lake Pueblo entrance. Authorities Tuesday night could not confirm that number.

In addition, 12 engines, two helicopters, two hotshot crews and one Type II hand crew have been deployed, Segin tweeted.

Smoke could be seen Tuesday from Pueblo and Colorado Springs.

First Southern Baptist Church at 303 E. Third St. in Florence also will be accepting families displaced because of the fire.

Custer County Fairgrounds and Pathfinder Regional Park in Fremont are taking large animals and the Humane Society in Canon City is taking small animals, Feldmann said,

The weather is not expected to cooperate with firefighters overnight.

A high wind warning is in effect until 9 a.m. Wednesday for the area, including all of the Sangre de Cristo and Wet mountain ranges, including the Canon City area. The National Weather Service expects sustained winds of 30 mph and gusts up to 60 overnight. Tree damage, power outages and some damage to buildings and roofs is possible, forecasters said.

The other fire, visible from Denver, is the Fern Lake Fire in Estes Park, which has continued to burn due to high winds in the area.

That fire has burned 979 acres and is 30 percent contained as of Tuesday morning. The highest intensity of heat was recorded on the west side of the fire, leading into Forest Canyon, according to the National Park Service.

A Type I helitanker arrived at the Loveland Airport Monday and will conduct water drops as needed Tuesday morning, if weather conditions allow, officials said.

That helitanker carries 1,000 gallons of water at high altitude. A smaller helicopter is being used for reconnaissance, according to the NPS.